WKU President Gary Ransdell stopped by the studios of WKU Public Radio Tuesday morning to discuss state funding for higher education, a recent announcement regarding how university construction projects will be financed, and the impact of rising tuition rates on current and future students.

President Ransdell spoke with WKU Public Radio News Director Kevin Willis. Here are some excerpts from their conversation:

Kevin Willis:Last week it was announced that Governor Beshear and state legislative leaders were backing $363 million in bonds for university construction and renovation projects. But it was understood that the schools themselves would be footing the entire cost for their respective projects, with no extra state funding involved. WKU was given approval for $22 million in bonds for a new Honors College and International Center.

Are you satisfied with that approach?

Gary Ransdell: “Well, I am. This is a unique way to approach these kinds of projects—unique in that heretofore, each university has gone to the General Assembly to seek independent agency bond authority whenever they had a particular project that was ready to go on that particular campus. So, rather than having six universities going to the General Assembly independently, seeking authorization for 11 projects, criss-crossing in the halls of the capitol, getting House and Senate leadership to understand and then get it through, we’ve instead submitted one concept, one proposal, one approval for 11 projects on six campuses. All eight university presidents have signed on to this collaborative approach.”

“The Governor has embraced it, and—in fact—the Governor can take a lot of credit for getting House and Senate leadership together last week to make the announcement.”

Do you have any concern as a university president that Kentucky lawmakers may say to themselves, “If our public universities can foot the total bill for their construction projects in 2013, then they can do the same thing in 2014, 2015, etc.’”?

“That is a concern. But we’ve had agency bond authority for lots of projects throughout my 16 years as president. We’ve funded a number of projects ourselves. In fact, we have funded nearly $600 million in capital construction since I was president. And only about 20% of that has come through state funding. With a number of other projects, we found a way to fund through either federal support, or private dollars, or auxiliary revenues—things like the Student Life Foundation, which has funded renovations of our residence halls.”

“What we’ve tried to do at WKU is preserve our major academic priorities for straight-up state funding, and then we seek agency bond authority for projects we can pay for in some other way.”

While the 2013 Kentucky General Assembly just got underway, the 2014 session will be extremely important because it’s a budget-writing session. What are the prospects next year for lawmakers to increase higher education funding? Will there be further cuts?

“There will be no new state funding. But we believe we’ve reached the end of the cuts, as well, so we don’t anticipate more budget reductions next year. But with no new funding, we have to find a way to build a budget that takes care of our fixed cost increases. And we have to find some—even if it’s modest—dynamic for faculty and staff compensation at the same time we’re facing rising costs.”

“We’re projecting a 5% tuition increase next year. That’s what the norm has been for the last several years, and I think we’re into that modest tuition increase mode of 5% for the last few years, and I think for the next few years.”

Speaking of tuition—tuition levels have been rising at WKU, and throughout Kentucky and the nation. There are many young people who are really starting to question the value of going into debt to get a four-year college degree. Many of them look at older siblings, friends, and others who have gone into debt to get a degree, and who can’t get a decent-paying job despite having been to college. As a university president, what would you say to a Kentucky high school junior or senior who is having real doubts about taking on debt to get a four-year college degree?

“The average debt for a WKU graduate might be $30,000-$40,000. That’s going to be pretty close to-- maybe not your first car, but maybe the third or fourth car you buy during your lifetime. So you’re probably going to invest as much into an automobile as what you would spend on a college education.”

“I hope young people continue to recognize that those years in college provide a lot more than just a credential to get a job. If all you wanted was a job, then—yes—you can go on to a community college or vocational school and get a skill, get a trade, and become a welder, a plumber, or an HVAC craftsman, or an artisan, or whatever the case might be. And that’s great for an awful lot of young people.”

“Most students who come to a major four-year public institution with a broad range of academic programs do more than just get that credential. They grow, they learn how to reason, they learn independence, and they experience an international phenomenon during their undergraduate years--which we’re really pressing at WKU. They understand a global context, and they really bring value to their future employers, their family, themselves, to our society in ways that go way beyond just the raw credential of a given skill-set.”

Our interview with WKU President Gary Ransdell is airing Tuesday during All Things Considered, at 4:50pm central time, and again Wednesday during Morning Edition at 7:50am.

WKU President Gary Ransdell stopped by the studios of WKU Public Radio Tuesday morning to discuss state funding for higher education, a recent announcement regarding how university construction projects will be financed, and the impact of rising tuition rates on current and future students.

President Ransdell spoke with WKU Public Radio News Director Kevin Willis. Here are some excerpts from their conversation:

Kevin Willis:Last week it was announced that Governor Beshear and state legislative leaders were backing $363 million in bonds for university construction and renovation projects. But it was understood that the schools themselves would be footing the entire cost for their respective projects, with no extra state funding involved. WKU was given approval for $22 million in bonds for a new Honors College and International Center.

Are you satisfied with that approach?

Gary Ransdell: “Well, I am. This is a unique way to approach these kinds of projects—unique in that heretofore, each university has gone to the General Assembly to seek independent agency bond authority whenever they had a particular project that was ready to go on that particular campus. So, rather than having six universities going to the General Assembly independently, seeking authorization for 11 projects, criss-crossing in the halls of the capitol, getting House and Senate leadership to understand and then get it through, we’ve instead submitted one concept, one proposal, one approval for 11 projects on six campuses. All eight university presidents have signed on to this collaborative approach.”

“The Governor has embraced it, and—in fact—the Governor can take a lot of credit for getting House and Senate leadership together last week to make the announcement.”

Do you have any concern as a university president that Kentucky lawmakers may say to themselves, “If our public universities can foot the total bill for their construction projects in 2013, then they can do the same thing in 2014, 2015, etc.’”?

“That is a concern. But we’ve had agency bond authority for lots of projects throughout my 16 years as president. We’ve funded a number of projects ourselves. In fact, we have funded nearly $600 million in capital construction since I was president. And only about 20% of that has come through state funding. With a number of other projects, we found a way to fund through either federal support, or private dollars, or auxiliary revenues—things like the Student Life Foundation, which has funded renovations of our residence halls.”

“What we’ve tried to do at WKU is preserve our major academic priorities for straight-up state funding, and then we seek agency bond authority for projects we can pay for in some other way.”

While the 2013 Kentucky General Assembly just got underway, the 2014 session will be extremely important because it’s a budget-writing session. What are the prospects next year for lawmakers to increase higher education funding? Will there be further cuts?

“There will be no new state funding. But we believe we’ve reached the end of the cuts, as well, so we don’t anticipate more budget reductions next year. But with no new funding, we have to find a way to build a budget that takes care of our fixed cost increases. And we have to find some—even if it’s modest—dynamic for faculty and staff compensation at the same time we’re facing rising costs.”

“We’re projecting a 5% tuition increase next year. That’s what the norm has been for the last several years, and I think we’re into that modest tuition increase mode of 5% for the last few years, and I think for the next few years.”

Speaking of tuition—tuition levels have been rising at WKU, and throughout Kentucky and the nation. There are many young people who are really starting to question the value of going into debt to get a four-year college degree. Many of them look at older siblings, friends, and others who have gone into debt to get a degree, and who can’t get a decent-paying job despite having been to college. As a university president, what would you say to a Kentucky high school junior or senior who is having real doubts about taking on debt to get a four-year college degree?

“The average debt for a WKU graduate might be $30,000-$40,000. That’s going to be pretty close to-- maybe not your first car, but maybe the third or fourth car you buy during your lifetime. So you’re probably going to invest as much into an automobile as what you would spend on a college education.”

“I hope young people continue to recognize that those years in college provide a lot more than just a credential to get a job. If all you wanted was a job, then—yes—you can go on to a community college or vocational school and get a skill, get a trade, and become a welder, a plumber, or an HVAC craftsman, or an artisan, or whatever the case might be. And that’s great for an awful lot of young people.”

“Most students who come to a major four-year public institution with a broad range of academic programs do more than just get that credential. They grow, they learn how to reason, they learn independence, and they experience an international phenomenon during their undergraduate years--which we’re really pressing at WKU. They understand a global context, and they really bring value to their future employers, their family, themselves, to our society in ways that go way beyond just the raw credential of a given skill-set.”

Our interview with WKU President Gary Ransdell is airing Tuesday during All Things Considered, at 4:50pm central time, and again Wednesday during Morning Edition at 7:50am.

]]>480noSaudi Student Population Grows at WKU, Providing Unique Benefits to All Involved

Universities throughout the U.S. are trying to increase their international student population, and WKU is no different. For years at WKU, Indian and Chinese students made up the largest international student groups, but that has since changed. There are now more students from Saudi Arabia on WKU’s campus than from any other country outside the U.S.

Signs of the Saudi presence in the community can often be seen at a place where the Saudi students love to congregate: on the local soccer fields.

An example of this recently took place on a beautiful early Wednesday evening at the Lover’s Lane soccer complex in Bowling Green. On one of the many fields there, a group of young men started to form teams and take practice shots on goal. They were WKU students from Saudi Arabia, and they met that evening because one of them, undergrad student Naif Albaiji, put the word out on Facebook the night before to meet up for a game.

“So I just posted that last night, and look,” says Naif, as he gestures to the dozens of Saudi students on the field and arriving in cars. “They’re coming. I really like it here.”

Support from the King

Naif is one of an estimated 274 Saudi students on WKU’s campus this semester. And like virtually all of them, Naif is here on a full scholarship funded by Saudi government. In 2005, Saudi King Abdullah launched an international scholarship program, designed to get as many of the kingdom’s young people as possible to enroll in western universities.

The Director of International Student and Scholar Services at WKU says the school, like so many others, is happy to help King Abdullah fulfill that goal. Dr. Tarek Elshayeb says WKU is proud of its growing Saudi student population.

“Recruiting international students is not an easy task, no matter how big the name of the school is. It has always been competitive, because there are so many universities who are aggressively recruiting international students,” says Dr. Elshayeb.

Financial Benefits for U.S. Universities

While international students contribute to a campus’s diversity, they also contribute to the coffers of schools like WKU. International students can’t qualify for the kind of state or U.S. federal aid that a student from Kentucky or Tennessee might receive. So that means internationals usually pay the entire sticker price of about $32,000 a year for an undergraduate education, with graduate students paying over $28,000 a year.

So how does an aspiring Saudi college student come to choose WKU? Public Administration Graduate student Abdulrahman Alfurhud went into an agent’s office in the Saudi capital Riyadh who specializes in placing Saudi students in western universities. Abdulrahman says after telling the agent what he wanted to study and what kind of city he wanted to live in, the agent suggested WKU.

“Because I like the quiet city, especially when I’m a student,” says Abdulrahman. “And it’s not that expensive. Also, it has a very beautiful environment, in general. The weather is good.”

Abdulrhaman says he appreciates the openness and accessibility of U.S. professors and feels completely accepted by the WKU campus and surrounding community. He’s making the most of his time in America. Abdulrhaman joined a few of his fellow Saudi students on a road trip that stretched from Bowling Green to San Diego, California and back. He’s a regular at Sinbad’s, a restaurant near campus that serves Middle Eastern food like kabsa, a lamb and rice dish served with traditional spices.

“Sometimes I can’t believe I’m sitting in the United States and enjoying kabsa, which is the main dish in Saudi Arabia,” Abdulrahman says.

Abdulrahman says a big reason why WKU’s Saudi student population has increased is positive word-of-mouth. Students come to Bowling Green, enjoy the experience, tell their friends and relatives back home, and more come as a result.

For Faisal Alzomily, WKU is already a family affair. He and his wife are both graduate students here, and they have a daughter who was born in Bowling Green. Faisal wants to get a Ph.D in the U.S. before returning home to a job in the Saudi Finance Ministry.

“I want to help my job to be better than before, to take what I’ve studied and what I’ve learned here and take it back to my home,” he says.

Still, Faisal also admits part of him wants to remain in his adopted home in Kentucky.

“You know, I would like to stay here in Bowling Green.”

Taking the Bad with the Good

Not every Saudi student has a perfect experience here, however.

Naif Albaiji, the undergrad who organized the Saudi student soccer match, says he has been harassed in Bowling Green’s fountain square area, with someone recently calling him an “Indian Muslim” who should “go back home.” Naif says he brushed off the comments, and adds you can find ignorant people anywhere in the world.

Despite that run-in downtown, Naif says he likes life at WKU enough to recommend it to five cousins who are now studying here. Naif says he’ll go back to Saudi Arabia once he’s done with his higher education. And then what?

“I’ll go back, find a job.” Naif pauses for a second. “Then send my children back here,” he says with a laugh.

Universities throughout the U.S. are trying to increase their international student population, and WKU is no different. For years at WKU, Indian and Chinese students made up the largest international student groups, but that has since changed. There are now more students from Saudi Arabia on WKU’s campus than from any other country outside the U.S.

Signs of the Saudi presence in the community can often be seen at a place where the Saudi students love to congregate: on the local soccer fields.

An example of this recently took place on a beautiful early Wednesday evening at the Lover’s Lane soccer complex in Bowling Green. On one of the many fields there, a group of young men started to form teams and take practice shots on goal. They were WKU students from Saudi Arabia, and they met that evening because one of them, undergrad student Naif Albaiji, put the word out on Facebook the night before to meet up for a game.

“So I just posted that last night, and look,” says Naif, as he gestures to the dozens of Saudi students on the field and arriving in cars. “They’re coming. I really like it here.”

Support from the King

Naif is one of an estimated 274 Saudi students on WKU’s campus this semester. And like virtually all of them, Naif is here on a full scholarship funded by Saudi government. In 2005, Saudi King Abdullah launched an international scholarship program, designed to get as many of the kingdom’s young people as possible to enroll in western universities.

The Director of International Student and Scholar Services at WKU says the school, like so many others, is happy to help King Abdullah fulfill that goal. Dr. Tarek Elshayeb says WKU is proud of its growing Saudi student population.

“Recruiting international students is not an easy task, no matter how big the name of the school is. It has always been competitive, because there are so many universities who are aggressively recruiting international students,” says Dr. Elshayeb.

Financial Benefits for U.S. Universities

While international students contribute to a campus’s diversity, they also contribute to the coffers of schools like WKU. International students can’t qualify for the kind of state or U.S. federal aid that a student from Kentucky or Tennessee might receive. So that means internationals usually pay the entire sticker price of about $32,000 a year for an undergraduate education, with graduate students paying over $28,000 a year.

So how does an aspiring Saudi college student come to choose WKU? Public Administration Graduate student Abdulrahman Alfurhud went into an agent’s office in the Saudi capital Riyadh who specializes in placing Saudi students in western universities. Abdulrahman says after telling the agent what he wanted to study and what kind of city he wanted to live in, the agent suggested WKU.

“Because I like the quiet city, especially when I’m a student,” says Abdulrahman. “And it’s not that expensive. Also, it has a very beautiful environment, in general. The weather is good.”

Abdulrhaman says he appreciates the openness and accessibility of U.S. professors and feels completely accepted by the WKU campus and surrounding community. He’s making the most of his time in America. Abdulrhaman joined a few of his fellow Saudi students on a road trip that stretched from Bowling Green to San Diego, California and back. He’s a regular at Sinbad’s, a restaurant near campus that serves Middle Eastern food like kabsa, a lamb and rice dish served with traditional spices.

“Sometimes I can’t believe I’m sitting in the United States and enjoying kabsa, which is the main dish in Saudi Arabia,” Abdulrahman says.

Abdulrahman says a big reason why WKU’s Saudi student population has increased is positive word-of-mouth. Students come to Bowling Green, enjoy the experience, tell their friends and relatives back home, and more come as a result.

For Faisal Alzomily, WKU is already a family affair. He and his wife are both graduate students here, and they have a daughter who was born in Bowling Green. Faisal wants to get a Ph.D in the U.S. before returning home to a job in the Saudi Finance Ministry.

“I want to help my job to be better than before, to take what I’ve studied and what I’ve learned here and take it back to my home,” he says.

Still, Faisal also admits part of him wants to remain in his adopted home in Kentucky.

“You know, I would like to stay here in Bowling Green.”

Taking the Bad with the Good

Not every Saudi student has a perfect experience here, however.

Naif Albaiji, the undergrad who organized the Saudi student soccer match, says he has been harassed in Bowling Green’s fountain square area, with someone recently calling him an “Indian Muslim” who should “go back home.” Naif says he brushed off the comments, and adds you can find ignorant people anywhere in the world.

Despite that run-in downtown, Naif says he likes life at WKU enough to recommend it to five cousins who are now studying here. Naif says he’ll go back to Saudi Arabia once he’s done with his higher education. And then what?

“I’ll go back, find a job.” Naif pauses for a second. “Then send my children back here,” he says with a laugh.

]]>240noCelebration for Gatton Academy Recognition HeldThe Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science was named the Number one high school in the country earlier this year by Newsweek magazine. In recognition of that honor, a celebration took place on the WKU campus. The ceremony gave many of the leaders who helped to make the Academy possible a chance to reflect on what it means to the university, the students, and the region. ]]>Tue, 25 Sep 2012 07:38:00 -0400http://wkyufm.org/post/celebration-gatton-academy-recognition-held
http://wkyufm.org/post/celebration-gatton-academy-recognition-heldDan ModlinThe Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science was named the Number one high school in the country earlier this year by Newsweek magazine. In recognition of that honor, a celebration took place on the WKU campus. The ceremony gave many of the leaders who helped to make the Academy possible a chance to reflect on what it means to the university, the students, and the region. ]]>239no